SYOC: Power of the Unknown
by PauseBianca
Summary: The Gods sense an unbalance in power south, so five demigods and one hunter are sent to find out who has shifted the scales. But when each quester holds a grudge against one another, how will they succeed? And can your past really come back to bite?
1. Chapter One Capture The Flag

**Hey guys, I've got the first chapter up and I'm happy with it. I dont think 3 and a half thousand words for the first chapter is that bad. BE AWARE THERE ARE SOME MINOR SWEARS IN THIS CHAPTER. Sorry for all the view changes, but that's how I like to write a story - so you see how it's all connected. **

**Enjoy ! **

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><p><strong>Title: SYOC: Power of the Unknown<strong>

**Rating: T for minor cursing.**

**Storyline: The Gods sense a shift in power in the West, so four - three demigods from Camp Half-Blood and a Hunter - are sent on a quest to find out who has shifted the scales... And if they are a friend or foe. But when each quester hates each other, how will they succeed in working together?**

**Setting: Twenty years after the end of The Last Olympian. The Lost Hero never happened and there is no Roman Camp. **

**Characters: I decided to use most of the characters that were submitted, since I just loved them all. Main characters have been chosen, but you can still submit characters to have smaller roles in the story. **

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><p><strong> Power of the Unknown <strong>

** Chapter One - Capture the Flag **

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><p>"Gather 'round kids. These Hunters aren't easy opponents. That last time they came, five years ago…" Alphie trailed off, lost in thought. "Let's just say that I winded up in the infirmary with three broken bones. I don't want any of you kids ending up like that."<p>

A shiver rippled through the audience. "Sounds fun," muttered a fifteen year old girl with long, wavy dark brown hair that blew around her face as if there was wind, though the leaves on the trees didn't even rustle.

"Yeah, yeah it was. Anyway, Charlotte, you lead defence. Take the other wind children and Morpheus kids to guard the flag. Hermes and Apollo kids, scout the area. Set the flag up high, hide in the trees. Use your air advantages to knock away anyone… And Miles, get your cabin to make those Hunters drowsy. Zane, Carla, Audrey and I will go around the border and try to cause a diversion. The rest of you, get in groups of two and try to find a way in."

"That's not the best plan Alph, it would be wiser if-"

"Audrey, I don't care if you're a daughter of Athena and you've got a better plan. But we're doing this my way."

"Stupid son of Apollo…" She said, glaring at him.

"Whatever. Go to your posts now, and don't let those sissy girls win! Let's go kick some Hunter ass!" The son of Apollo shouted before heading off with the group of four.

"Wind kids! Children of Aeolus and Zephyr get over here. Same goes for you dreamy kids." The daughter of Aeolus with the long, wavy dark brown hair rounded up the demigods that were assigned to defence. She sauntered off into the woods, ten half-bloods following. There were two children of Aeolus, not including Charlotte, three children of Zephyr (who all had similar blowing hair to Charlotte) and four children of Morpheus. None of the other wind gods had demigod children. The group perched their branch in a high tree. The flag was easily visible, like it had to be, yet would take long to climb, leaving the climber vulnerable to attacks. The children of Zephyr and Aeolus could also cause some breezes to hinder the climbers, and the Morpheus children could cause the climbers to be drowsy and possible fall to the forest floor. Demigods scurried up trees around the area, staying hidden but ready to go on the offence. Hermes children were strewn down the creek and Apollo children were ready, bows in hand, to back them up. They were ready.

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><p>Demigods were heading off in each direction with another, over and over until two remained. They both were considered 'loners' at camp, none of them from the original twelve cabins. Children at Camp Half-Blood who were children of the Olympians tended to be more included than others. The two remaining teens stood there awkwardly, avoiding each other's eyes. One of them shifted his violet eyes so that they bore into the girl's deep brown, almost black, eyes. He thought they seemed as dark as Tartarus (not that he'd been), deep and mysterious.<p>

"Uh… Partner? I guess? I mean if you don't want to… But you kind of have to… But if you just want to go against Alphie said and not…" He slapped his hand to his mouth when he realised he was babbling.

"Yeah. It's not like I have a choice." The girl offered her hand. "Sophia Jasmine Marcepolla. Daughter of Hades."

He looked up at the girl. She towered three feet above his 5'6" figure. "Oscar Bradford. Son of Hecate."

"Let's get this show on the road, then, Oscar." Sophia pressed a rhinestone on both of her maroon and black wristbands and they formed into dual Stygian iron blades in her hands. She sprinted off into the woods, Oscar in pursuit, an engraved pine staff in hand.

A conch horn blew. The game had begun.

Sophia and Oscar leaped over the creek, into enemy territory. They weaved in and out of trees, hopping over the occasional trip wire. Oscar muttered an incantation. His eyes and the engravings on his staff glowed slightly. A red mist rose from the soil and shimmered slightly before slowly drifting north.

"I did a minor finding spell. It won't last long, and it travels slowly, but it'll get us in the right direction. "

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's-"A silver arrow streaked past, implanting itself in her shoulder. Sophie cried out in pain and yanked the arrow out, tossing it aside. It was dripping red. The two were alert now, eyes scanning the trees for a Hunter. A second arrow whizzed by, and it would've hit Oscar if he hadn't knocked it aside with his staff. He muttered some more incantations and a bright flash of light blinded them for half a second. When it died down, they noticed three Hunters surrounding them, previously being concealed by the branches. Sophia and Oscar were surrounded.

"That's bad company you're with, camper. You know that boys are a menace." Said a Hunter with waist length wavy brown hair. She had pointed features and had an arrow notched in her silver bow. She glared at Oscar, and motioned to the other two Hunters to raise their bows. The two followed the directions, slowly inching closer to the two campers so that they couldn't get away.

"There's nothing wrong with boys," Sophia hissed, venom dripping in her tone. "You Hunters are just too wimpy to try to handle them. Go back to girls scouts, wimp."

"You have allowed yourself to be corrupted by men. And you say we are the wimp." The Hunters were still closing in, only ten feet away now.

Sophia snarled and raised her blades. "I _hate _you Hunters."

"The feeling is mutual, foolish demigod," Yelled one of the other two Hunters. She had shoulder-length straight blonde hair and bright, glowing green eyes. Oscar had no idea whatever she was before she became a Hunter. A nymph, maybe?

"You did _not_ just call me foolish. You're going to feel it." Sophia's expression was dark and absolutely terrifying. She could've sent a Laistrygonian to their mother in tears. She stretched her arms out, looked straight ahead and muttered "Serve me,"

A jagged hole opened up in the ground. Rows and rows of dead soldiers crawled out of the fissure, standing in uniform lines and awaiting her order.

"Get the Hunters."

Dead confederates slashed at the three Hunters who were backing up against trees. Alex leaped onto a branch gracefully, eliminating undead after undead with her bow and arrows. Unfortunately, the dead could climb too. They easily scaled the tree, each one grabbing one of the Hunters' limbs. Alexandra tried to scream, but a bony (literally) hand clamped over her mouth and her eyes shone with fear. Meanwhile, Sophia stumbled forward, fatigued, ready to drop, but Oscar caught her arm. Sophie half-fell to the ground, one shoulder hitting the ground with a painful _crunch._ She cried out in pain, eyes shooting wide open.

"Are you okay?" Oscar asked with the burning feeling of guilt. Sophia grimaced and nodded, and he immediately knew that she was in pain. He probed the injured shoulder and muttered softly to himself. He felt the shoulder return to its socket. The two demigods both felt drained and they lay on the ground, eyes closed, breathing slowly, listening to the muffled screams of the tortured Hunters begging for mercy. It almost seemed peaceful. Then Oscar remembered the capture the flag game, the tracking spell that was slowly getting away. It took a humungous amount of effort, but he sat upright. He hauled himself to his feet, whispering to Sophia to get up. Slowly but surely she did, Oscar pulling her to her feet and allowing her to put most of his weight on him.

"What's wrong? Is it still dislocated?"

"No… Just… tired. Summoning so many… Sleep… Bed…"

"Um… You can go to sleep after this. We've got to get the flag and follow the red mist."

Sophia weakly nodded. "Follow the yellow brick road… Follow the red mist." Slowly, the two trudged away from the three incapacitated Hunters, following Oscar's spell. It led them in and out of trees, up and down slopes. After a while of walking, and surprisingly no Hunters, the mist thinned out and disappeared.

"Great, now we're on our own." Sophia muttered after having regained a lot of her energy.

"It's weird how we haven't seen any Hunters. If we're coming close to the flag, shouldn't there be more guards?"

"It's all pretty suspicious. Ambush?"

"Or maybe your dead slaves got the rest."

"They're not slaves. But whatever. We've gotta be more careful, are you any good at climbing trees?"

"Umm…. Let's just say that I'm better at close hand combat than climbing trees. And I can barely block a thrust from a knife."

"Great, just great," Sophia muttered. "So what do we do now, wander aimlessly till we get jumped and end up like Alph?"

"]Pretty much. Come on."

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><p>"Hoorah hoorah, I get partnered with the wimp from the Ares cabin," muttered an intimidating 6 foot boy who appeared to be fifteen or sixteen. His hair was jet black with a cowlick at the front. He was muscular and had a tattoo of a zombie on his left hand. His blunt saffron eyes were focused straight ahead.<p>

"Well, your father is Phobos, god of fear. We'll make it. We'll scare them. I think. And I'm not a wimp."

"Hey, I'm Matthew Rivera and I'm too scared to even come close to whoever I'm fighting, so I use a bow and arrow. I'm a son of Ares, but I can't even beat a daughter of Aphrodite in a sword fight," the child of Phobos said in a high-pitched voice.

"Stop it Zane! Plus, there's nothing wrong with children of Aphrodite." _Especially the one I fought, _Matthew thought.

Zane Anderson shifted his glare from the forest to Matthew's dark, helpless looking eyes. Waves of pure fear rippled in the air, a dark pulse. Matthew shrunk back from Zane, terror overcoming him. The son of Phobos turned his back on the child of Ares and walked off, alone.

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><p>"Could you pass some wind over here!" shouted Bryce, head counsellor of the Morpheus cabin.<p>

Elijah, Bryce's half-brother, snickered. "Dude, that did _so _not come out right."

"Shut up Elijah! Can you get Char or one of the other wind kids to blow a breeze on that tree? The drowsiness isn't sending that Hunter own with the rest."

"Well, I can't shut up and ask Charlotte at the same time, can I?"

"You're not shutting up now, so why can't you ask her?"

"Good point," he said to Bryce, then screamed "HEY! YOU! DAUGHTER OF ZEPHYR! HAZEL? HARRIET? HELGA? OH WAIT, HOLLIE! HEY, HOLLIE! CAN YOU DEAL WITH THAT HUNTER?"

The girl who Elijah had called to sighed. She _liked _him, but he almost never glanced in her direction, much less remembered her name. Hollie was so used to being used. Being used for answers at school. Being used for her high technology at home. Being used in relationships. When she was younger she thought that by the age of sixteen she would have found true love and a best friend, but here she was, a week after turning seventeen, and still utterly confused by life. Hollie absent-mindedly swiped her hand and a gust of wind caused the tree the Hunter was on to shake violently, sending the maiden down to the hard ground below. She would definitely have major bruises, maybe a broken bone. The Huntress shot three silver arrows up at Hollie in the tree, but they were swept aside by another rush of wind. They implanted themselves in a tree.

"Thanks Hollie! Don't mind Elijah. He was just dropped off Olympus as a kid." Bryce laughed at his own comment, and Elijah glared at him.

"I haven't even been, doofus. "

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><p>"I think we're almost there. I can feel it." Said Oscar, eyes darting around, combing the forest. Sophia gripped her dual blades tightly.<p>

_Crunch._

Oscar and Sophia jumped at the sound, then entering an offensive position. The daughter of Hades had her Stygian iron blades poised in her outstretched arms and the son of Hecate had his staff pointed to where he heard the sound.

"Show yourself!" Sophia snarled, ready to summon help if she needed.

There was a rustle, and then two females leaped out of the bushes.

"Don't shoot us!" One squeaked. She had short, bobby brown hair and appeared to be the age of nine. "I'm a camper! I'm Vickie, daughter of Tyche, goddess of fortune and chance. This is Daisy, daughter of Chloris. We know who you are." She motioned to the other girl, who seemed to be around the same age, but had long, wavy blonde hair.

"Whoa, _Daisy?_ A daughter of Chloris, goddess of flowers, called Daisy?" Oscar smiled, stifling a laugh that would give away their position to any nearby Hunters.

"What of it? I can tell that you're a child of Hecate. You use magic. You know what else uses magic? _Fairies._ Go join your friends."

"Magic is only for the coolest of kids. Go plant a flower."

"Don't you-"

"Save it till later, Fairy and Pot Plant. We've got some Hunters to trash. What do you guys know about where it is? Have you seen anyone?" Sophia was all business. She had always hated the Hunters, since they were of Artemis, one of the Olympians. Sophia Marcepolla was brought up to detest the Olympians. She was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and had lived there with her mother until she was ten, when she was brought to the Underworld at her father's request. For one year of her life she lived with her father in the Underworld, being influenced by her father to dislike the Olympians. Persephone showed her no signs of love, and springtime was the worst part of the year for Sophia. She would get sick from flower spores and bugs would bite her constantly, ignoring her odour of death. The daughter of Hades was brought to camp at the age of eleven.

"Pot Plant? Really, Death Breath. We're playing capture the flag. Let' get it moving. We've seen a few Hunters just standing out there. Could be a trap, but my guess is that they're guarding the flag."

"You know an awful lot for a nine year old." Oscar muttered, following the two young girls into the trees.

"Ten. And don't underestimate me, Fairy."

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><p>"For the love of Zeus! Just go down already!" Charlotte screeched, sending gust after gust of wind at a stubborn Hunter who simply refused to fall out of the tree. She scurried up it like a squirrel, inching closer and closer to the flag. The children of Morpheus were unsuccessful in sending her to sleep, the Hermes cabin busy holding off Hunters below and the Apollo campers' arrows being buffeted by their own team's wind.<p>

Cheers erupted from below. Charlotte looked back at where the flag was perched. Emphasis on _was._ The simple white camper flag was fluttering as the Hunter who was grasping it leaped from limb to limb of the tree. Once landing on the ground gracefully, she sprinted towards the creek with four other maidens covering her retreat.

"Crap! How in Hades did she do that?" Charlotte called, jumping off her branch into open air. Winds swirled around her, slowing her descent. Even when the winds had died down her hair blew around like they were still there. She followed in pursuit of the girl who had taken the flag, throwing knife after knife off her belt. She directed the winds to carry the knives towards their target, but she was not a strong runner. The Huntress' were out of her sight and the knives dropped to the ground, unable to find a target.

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><p>"Do you hear that guys?" Oscar stopped walking abruptly, cocking his head to the side.<p>

"Come on, Fairy. The flag isn't going to steal itself." Daisy stood, legs shoulder-length apart, arms crossed and glared at him like a military commando. Unfortunately, she was not very intimidating with her short height and heart-shaped baby face.

"Someone's got our flag. Listen. I don't think they're cheering because they found a stash of chocolate." The son of Hecate pursed his lips. "I'm going back. Stop them from getting the flag over the border."

"Alphie said we were to try and get their flag…" Vickie clearly didn't agree. She looked unsure.

"I'll go with you Oscar. To Hades with Alphie." Sophia rolled her eyes and headed in the direction of the creek. Oscar followed her and they broke into a sprint. Sophia was quick at short sprints and she pulled ahead of Oscar. They reached the babbling water of the creek and watched in horror as a Hunter with long, flowing scarlet hair was yelling in triumph. She had one arm raised above her head, the flag in her clutches.

"Teach them Hana!"

"That's how a true Hunter does it!"

"You go girl!"

Cheers could be heard from all around, left and right, up and down, which left Sophia wondering whether they were in ditches, pits or underground. The Huntress had almost made it, a few strides away from the stream.

An arrow whizzed by from the west and there was a sickening coughing when it hit its target. The Hunter with the flag fell to the ground, arrow lodged into her lower back. Gasps broke through the sudden silence. The flag was in the limp girl's hands, a few feet before the water. Then, at once, chaos erupted. Hunters from all over the forest rushed to get the flag, knocking each other and pushing demigod campers out of their way. Sophia felt like face-palming. There had been this many Hunters here the whole time, and now here they were, rushing to the undefended flag that was only a stride away from the boundary line. Any second, they would pick up the flag and win the game. So Sophia did the only thing she could do.

"Serve me! Destroy the Hunters!" Sophia screamed, eyes rolling back unintentionally. A huge fissure opened up in the ground and an army of skeleton soldiers poured out of the Underworld.

Oscar's mouth dropped open at the amount the daughter of Hades had summoned. There were undead lined up all along the water, shields interlocked and each with a celestial bronze spear raised ready to strike. His thoughts were interrupted by a _thump_. He turned to see the girl who had summoned the skeletons lying head-down on the ground. Unconscious.

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><p>Matthew released the arrow, sending it plummeting into the Hunter's lower back. A ripple of joy burst in his chest. Maybe it was the sight of seeing a Hunter in pain, or the natural bloodlust that came with being a child of the war god. He wasn't aware of what happened next, but there were lots of gasps and yells. He retreated into the safety of the trees and clutched his face in his scarred hands. He felt guilty about the hit; it might have been enough to kill her. No living thing – monster or human – should deserve a death like that. Even a Hunter. Though, Matthew had always wanted to avenge the death of her little sister. Torn between emotions he lay in a tree, wondering what he had come to.<p>

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><p>Oscar held the unconscious form of Sophie Marcepolla in his arms, ignoring how close they were and the fact that her head was in his lap. He heard some vulgar language – mainly cursing Sophia and telling her to Hades, which didn't make any sense to Oscar, since she was a daughter of Hades – and he looked up. A horde of Hunters were trying to fight their way through the skeleton soldiers, panic clear on their immortal faces. Oscar didn't understand why they were trying to get through without getting the flag first. Sophia blinked a few times, slowly returning to consciousness.<p>

A conch horn blew. Oscar saw two young girls holding up a silver flag between them, standing in friendly territory.

Vickie and Daisy had done it. The campers had won.

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><p><strong>Review Please, and Feel Free to Leave Any OC's in the review box or PM them to me! Thanks x0x0x0<strong>

**Bianca**


	2. Chapter Two Pranks and Prophecies

**Hey guys,**

**Sorry for slow updates. Had two assignments and one exam this week - Yay. **

**Anyway, I tried to make this chapter longer, and it would've been a filler chapter, but hey, who likes fillers?**

**So yeah, there's some action/drama in it. It was just over 4100 words and I'm going to try and keep the chapters at least 4000 words each. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters belonging to the PJO series.**

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><p><strong>Power of the Unknown<strong>

**Chapter Two - Pranks and Prophecies**

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><p>The scent of blossoms filled the air. Perhaps this was because flowers bloomed all over three of the pale green walls; the other wall showed a detailed replica of 'La Primavera', a famous artwork from the Renaissance that depicted Flora the nymph as she was turned into Chloris by Zephr. A ten year old girl with waist-length blonde, wavy hair sat on a solitary bed. She turned over the book that she had found upon walking into her cabin. It was a simple hardcover, plain white with the title 'Power of the Unknown' written in a clear, legible text. She opened it up to the first page. One sentence greeted her.<p>

_And then, without warning, the unknown enemy shall strike and Olympus shall be in ruins._

"How cliché," Daisy muttered before tossing the book across the room. Before it hit the wall it exploded into red dust, but she didn't notice. "Stupid children of Hermes. Pranks suck."

Daisy left her cabin to give the Hermes kids a piece of her mind. It was two days since her victory. And, to her enjoyment, she had officially made an eternal enemy in a group of maidens.

A great birthday present.

It was the 23rd of July. Daisy was officially eleven and no one knew except her best friend, Vickie. Oh, the joys of being a unique demigod.

Daisy chuckled lightly to herself. Arriving at the Hermes cabin, she examined her canvas. A smirk played on her lips and she waved her hand. Roses bloomed over the roof and lilies sprung up from the ground, forming a carpet around the cabin. For good measure, she threw in some poppies over the outer walls. She laughed again, imagining the faces of the Hermes cabin when they came back from breakfast.

"Pot Plant!" A male voice called from behind. The daughter of Chloris cursed to herself and turned to face the caller.

"What do you want Fairy?" Daisy growled.

Oscar raised his arms in surrender. "Whoa. Cool it. Calm your flower. Just wanted to know what you're doing."

"Getting some revenge on some idiotic children of Hermes. They chose the wrong chick to mess with."

"You know, for a ten year old flower girl you're pretty badass."

"Eleven," she sighed.

"Um… What? You said you were ten two days ago."

"That's because I _was_ ten two days ago."

"Uhh… I still don't get it."

"It's my birthday today, you dolt."

"Oh… Happy birthday, I guess. Oh, and for your present I'll help you prank the Hermes kids. Trust me, I'm great at pranking. There's nothing a little magic can't do."

"Oh, I never doubted that fairy-boy. I only doubt your evil genius."

"Excuse me? You doubt my evil genius? Well just wait till you see my plans."

"Each take a cabin. Best prank wins?"

Oscar nodded and grinned. "I've got Aphrodite. You've got Hermes. We have till the end of the day to plan and they must unfold tomorrow."

"May the most evil win, fairy."

"Ditto, flower."

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><p>"Get out of here you freak! Why can't you stop using a bow, man up and be the warrior you're supposed to be?"<p>

Matthew quivered. He slung a small backpack over his shoulder and thrust the door open. It swung outwards with a soft creak as the outcast sprinted away, into the woods he seemed to call home more often than the Ares cabin. Laughter could be heard behind him and the sound washed over him, echoing in his mind. It consumed him and taunted him, reminding him of his past. Matthew had nowhere now. His family awaited him in the underworld, and his siblings' teasing pushed him to speed up the process of seeing his family once again. The thought of his sister's death brought up a wave of barely consumed hatred and anger at Artemis and her hunters. He shared a similar loathing for Aphrodite and her children for what she had done to his family. Because of Artemis and Aphrodite he was alone. He had no friends and no one that understood his pain. Matthew leaned down against a tree, pressing his back against its firm wood. Head in hands, he sent his mind back to when his life had begun to fall apart.

"_Julie, please. Don't. I've lost everyone else and I don't want to lose you. You're the only sister I have left."_

"_Matt, shh. I'll be okay. You won't lose me, and I'll still be able to come and see you."_

"_Won't lose you? I'll never be able to talk to you again! You think that, and I quote 'turn my back on the company of men' means you are allowed to be friends with a male? You'll turn into a stuck-up, sexist little bitch along with the rest of them! After losing Mum and Finn do you think I can risk losing you?"_

"_Again Matt, you won't lose me. I'll always be your sister, and I'll always love you, and an oath will never change that. I'll always be with you."_

"_Always be with me, huh? After this little talk time you'll be with the Hunters and Artemis will chase me out of here firing at me or turn me into an animal. Where will you be? Among the crowd that are laughing their heads off when I'm given a one-way ticket to Hades. Will you defend me? Tell them that they're wrong about men? Leave the Hunters and curse Artemis for killing me? No, you won't Julie. You'll be a man-hating Hunter and be laughing with the rest of them."_

"_Matt, you know I won't do that. I just have to escape this curse."_

"_We're children of Ares, Julie. We should stand together and face up to the task, not run away and leave one person to bear the load. There's no I in teamwork, that sorta thing. We were given this curse so we have to stick together to overcome it."_

"_Matt, you're my brother. You're strong and I know you can handle it. You're strong enough to avoid the curse. There's got to be a way around it."_

"_Aphrodite didn't curse our family so we can overcome it and call ourselves heroes. She made it impossible to overcome on purpose. So our lives will be ruined."_

"_I'm sorry, Matt. But I've got to do this. I'll always love you, Hunter or not." Julie Rivera looked at her broken brother before sweeping out of the tent. Matthew was unaware of what happened, hopefully his younger sister turned down the offer to join the Hunters. The spark of hope diminished when he heard the mumbling of a pledge, and saw the silver burst of light even through the tent. A pit as deep as Tartarus opened up in Matthew's chest and he realised that he was now truly alone._

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><p>The old centaur swished his tail back and forth nervously, letter in hand. It was addressed from the Gods, and he knew that the Gods never contacted camp unless something was wrong. Slowly he unfolded the piece of parchment and set his eyes on the paper. The handwriting was the fancy cursive of Lord Zeus. A small gasp would have escaped the centaur's lips if he had not years of training at being calm when problems arose. The centaur pursed his lips and read over the letter and his fingers stiffened on the paper. Just like he thought, there was a problem. An unbalance in power.<p>

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><p>"Father, I don't think it would be wise to-"<p>

"I don't care about _wise,_ that's for that bird brain Olympian. No, I care about _power._ Strength. An operation cannot run on wisdom alone, strength overcomes all."

"Uh, yes Father. It does." The young demigod completely disagreed with her Father; however he was too obnoxious to notice.

"Power comes from within. It is the very force of how we exist, why we exist, if we exist. The Olympians are fools to class me as a _minor_ god. They underestimate how much chaos can be caused with a slight tip in the power scales. And they don't even realise that _I _control those scales. Now, my daughter. Investigate the power levels at the camp. I don't have time to do it myself, I am busy gaining allies. Go see Iaso to fix you up before you go. And because you need a real weapon, not that sissy bow and arrow, go see Enyo and Enyalius before you go. Tell them that you're ready for the gift."

"Thank you Father." The girl bowed awkwardly, her straight blonde hair brushing over her face. She left in a hurry, eager to get away from the overwhelming presence of the god. But then again, she was heading to three gods right now. Out of all the gods and goddesses that supported her father, Iaso was her favourite. Iaso, goddess of cures, remedies and methods of healing, was soft and affectionate. How she got along with her rugged and demanding father, she had no idea. All the demigod knew was that her father and Iaso were great friends. She creaked open a door, peering inside. The goddess of cures was sitting on a black leather swivel chair, seeming so out of place in the hospital-like room. She had clear, flawless skin and short, bobby caramel hair. She welcomed the demigod with a warm smile.

"Ah, Jacinta. Come in dear, your father has alerted me of your mission. I do hope for your sake, and for all of ours, you succeed. It would do great deeds for the Unknown." Iaso smiled sweetly.

"Thank you, Lady Iaso. It means a lot to me." Jacinta felt warm talking to the goddess. It was the same feeling she had every time she spoke to Iaso, perhaps it was part of her sweet, remedial aura.

"Oh, dear. You don't have to refer to me as Lady Iaso. That title is for more, ah, formal purposes. Iaso is fine, my dear."

"Thank you, Iaso."

"You're welcome honey. Now, I assume it's the regular ambrosia and remedial fix up? And a full body healing before you depart?"

"Yes, and I would appreciate some of your fatigue cure."

"Most certainly, Jacinta." The minor goddess waved her hand and a leather pouch appeared, the top spilling open with supplies. She fastened the clasp with a muted _click_ and waved her hand, offering the bag to Jacinta.

"Thank you, Lady Iaso. I would stay around, but I must go visit Enyo and Enyalius. My father told me they have a weapon for me." The demigod turned, leaving the small infirmary with the leather pouch slung over her shoulder. The warm feeling inside her faded slowly, and she heard the voice of the goddess call out behind her.

"Make me proud, my dear! Bring the minor gods the respect they deserve."

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><p>Oscar crept behind the Aphrodite cabin, internally puking at its colour. He <em>hated<em> pink. Almost as much as he hated rats. And, hey, Oscar hated rats so much that every time he saw one he would throw whatever he had in his hands at them. It was how he broke his first iPod.

He brought out his staff and gripped it in his left hand (Oscar was proudly left-handed) and used his right to slide open one of the two arched windows that adorned in the back wall of the cabin. His violet eyes flitted around, checking that the coast was clear before hauling himself into the window. Scouring through draws and chests, he found what he was looking for – foundation. The grooves and carvings on Oscar's staff glowed as he muttered a spell. The foundation glowed a bright green before the colour died down again. When the light diminished Oscar felt drowsy so he returned to his cabin. Teetering slowly to the front door, he muttered something about sleep and how the Morpheus children better give him good dreams. As soon as he dropped onto the bed he began to dream.

* * *

><p>"<em>My daughter shall accomplish her mission. It is in her blood to succeed." An intimidating man with folded arms sat up straight in a black chrome seat. He had power radiating off of him in waves that seemed so overwhelming and powerful that he could send Ares crying to Hera. <em>

"_Yes, but one lone demigod to scout the camp. It would work better if you send someone like me, perhaps." Said another person who had curly red hair and a beard. His face was pointed and his eyes were deep and golden. His features reminded Oscar of the children of Hermes, cheeky and elf-like but this man's were darker. His skin was pale and he was muscled, but nowhere near as much as the man he was talking to._

"_Momus, do not mock my daughter. She is of my descent, she has great power."_

"_Yeah, yeah. I guess it will be pretty hard to fail at scouting that camp. Even that weak demigod could do it. Maybe. Anyway, you should let me do it. I want revenge against Zeus for exiling me from Olympus. I mean, for Ouranous' sake! All I did was criticise him for being violent and his lust for women! Even if I did also criticise Aphrodite and Hephaestus, I have enough reason! Those Olympians are foul. Just like my mother Nyx used to say 'Don't let others brighten up your darkness,' I get what that means now! Everyone is so stupid. I need my revenge. That demigod won't be enough, so I should go. I _do _have more hate for them than her, so really, I would do-"_

"_Momus, that is _enough! _Do _not _criticise my daughter, or I will have you in Tartarus!"_

"_Whoa, jeez boss, calm down! There's nothing wrong with a little mockery and resentment. What would your father say? I'm pretty sure Styx encourages the hate. Come on boss, let me mock her some more, just a little bit."_

_The stronger man growled and let loose a wave of red energy, blasting back all the nearby furniture and shaking the walls. Oscar's dream shattered like glass and fell into blackness._

* * *

><p>Daisy smirked and readied her bow. She wasn't the best shot, but hey, she didn't need to be for the task ahead. Strung to her each of her arrows was a fine cord covered with 'NEW Long-Lasting Mount Olympus Sticky Stuff! Now Stronger AND Lasting Over Five Hours!' that she had purchased on her most recent field trip to Olympus. She pulled back the string past her cheek, right arm bent with two fingers on the string and left arm straight, fingers clasped around the bow. She held the position for one second… two seconds… then released. The string sprung out of her grip, grazing her arm and launching the arrow across the room of the Hermes cabin. Daisy cursed, inspecting the wound on her forearm. A few layers of skin had been taken off, and now it was bleeding slightly. The daughter of Chloris promised herself that she would attend more archery lessons.<p>

* * *

><p><em>One look into his eyes. That's all it took for her to fall in love. Her oath, Lady Artemis, the Hunters, all of them floating away behind her. His deep blue eyes were pools she wanted to plunge into and forever lose herself in. And then she decided. She was in love. And she would leave the Hunters.<em>

_Returning to the Hunters' camp from her scouting mission, she found herself face-to-face with a goddess. And her expression was as dark as an eclipse._

_Julie bowed. "Lady Artemis."_

_The goddess' eyes were steely cold. "You had the potential to become a great maiden. But you allowed yourself to become corrupted by a man. _Why?_"_

"_He's… Not just any man. I-I believe in love at first sight now that I have seen him."_

"_You have not even met him. Is this what you have come to? Deciding to weaken yourself by loving someone you have not even met?"_

_Julie lowered her eyes. She racked her brain for something to say, but she was coming up blank. Slowly, she felt herself tire. She felt weaker, and with a shock she realised she was aging again. Sighing, she turned away from the goddess and started to head back to civilisation. _

_Disbelief._

_Anger._

_Surrender._

_A mix of emotions swirled through her head as the blast of silver energy struck her from behind, and she was blasted forward, pain ricocheting throughout her body. As she came in contact with the ground she turned, so that the shoulder took the brunt of the hit. A cry of pain escaped her mouth and in her dying moments one memory came to mind. The words of Aphrodite that had haunted her for her entire childhood._

"_I swear, as long your mother believes that my lover is hers, that you shall never find happiness in love. Your love will get you killed from the most unexpected and uncharacteristic of reasons. _

_And before she passed into Hades' territory she thought one name._

_Matthew._

* * *

><p>Miles and Bryce stood together in front of their cabin, expressions full of worry. The cabin counsellor, Bryce, and his 'right-hand man' Miles could feel a distressing dream from somewhere. They couldn't feel exactly where (thanks a lot, unpredictable minor demigod powers) in the camp it came from but it was strong. Someone was having a nightmare – or most likely a vision that was distressing. They both turned their heads to look at each other at the same time, in a cliché kind of way.<p>

"Well, Styx. What the Hades was that?" Miles said, using one hand to push a loose strand of hair out of his eyes.

"Gods, you have to stop cursing. But yeah, I have no clue. Probably just another divine force trying to ruin someone's day." Bryce replied.

"Oh okay, nothing new then."

"Nope."

There was a period of silence, both boys awkwardly shuffling their feet. Miles was the one to break it. "Should we alert Chiron?"

"An immortal ruining someone's life… There's nothing we can do to stop it. But I guess Chiron should know. Come on" And together the two brothers walked to the Big House.

* * *

><p>The centaur contemplated when to break the news to the demigods. Tonight? Tomorrow? Now? His usually clear thoughts were slightly jumbled, but he came to a conclusion. Tonight at the campfire. He would have a quest issued and have the leader receive a prophecy from the oracle… Or perhaps he should go and retrieve a prophecy now… And choose who to go on it afterwards? And what about the Hunters… They were currently visiting camp, would they be included in the quest? After moments of deliberation, contemplation and conflict he decided to receive a prophecy himself and at the campfire he would tell the campers and Hunters, and then fill in the gaps. Before he could canter off to the cave that held the oracle, two campers stopped him in his tracks.<p>

"Chiron," said Miles, son of Morpheus. "Me and Bryce-"

"Bryce and I, oh smart one." His half-brother interrupted.

"Bryce and I, whatever! We sensed a distressing dream somewhere in camp. A nightmare or more likely a god or Titan visiting someone's dream. Intentional or not."

"Hmm, this probably is connected to…" Chiron tried to hide his spoken thoughts by coughing and turning away, but he didn't fool the brothers.

"Chiron, what is it?" Bryce asked.

"It will be explained at campfire tonight. Please go around to all the cabins and tell them that campfire is _mandatory _tonight. And please save any other inquiries."

"Okay, then. I'll take girls you take guys?" Bryce suggested.

"Oh, come on! There are so many gods' cabins! At least there are some _maiden _goddess' that you don't have to do."

"Well, unless you want to do the Hunters, I guess you're doing the guys." Miles shivered at the memory of the capture the flag game. The Hunters that he had caused to fall out of trees had their revenge. His arm was still in a sling, but thanks to the Panacea and Epione cabins (the new healers in camp, since the Apollo cabin specialised in medicine, whereas Panacea was the goddess of healing and Epione was the goddess of the soothing of pain) it would be off in a week.

"Fine, I'll get Elijah to help me." The two left Chiron to do their job, tackling each other along the way. Chiron smiled, and then remembering the task at hand, composed his expression. He cantered off to the oracle's cave, brushing aside the purple curtain that adorned the front of the cavern. A young maiden with curly brown hair was seated on a red leather couch reading a book.

"Katherine, how are you?" Chiron asked.

The girl on the couch looked up from her book. "I'm good, and I trust that you are as well, but I don't need the spirit of Delphi to tell that you did not come to ask how I am."

Chiron pursed his lips together. "Well, yes. I need a prophecy."

"Ask away."

The immortal trainer pondered for a moment before speaking. "How can we stop the rising threat?"

Katherine's eyes glowed green. Smoke billowed out from her open jaw and a hissing sound resonated throughout the cavern.

"_One Hunter and five heroes will be chosen by the sea, _

_Down under they will find the one from the tree._

_Accusations will eventually lead them astray,_

_Vengeance will drive one to betray._

_Power will rise when the heroes are weak,_

_And one shall fall to defeat whom they seek."_

And with that the smoke retracted and the oracle's eyes returned to their normal hazel. Her head thumped against the back of the couch and she passed out cold. Chiron took a quick glance at the maiden before leaving the cave. He knew she would be alright when she came to her senses. All the centaur could think about was the prophecy. _One Hunter and five heroes will be chosen by the sea, _obviously Poseidon. _Down under they will find the one from the tree._ Chiron cast his mind back to thirty years ago, when Percy Jackson and the satyrs had trapped Hyperion in a maple tree. Did this refer to him? _Accusations will eventually lead them astray, Vengeance will drive one to betray._ That didn't sound good, but unfortunately prophecies were unavoidable. _Power will rise when the heroes are weak, _which probably meant that they would find power within themselves to accomplish their quest. _And one shall fall to defeat whom they seek. _One shall fall. Chiron should be used to heroes passing during quests, but he still regretted the loss of life and the waste of talent. Thoughts rebounded off the walls of his mind, echoing around his head. _The one from the tree. Lead them astray. Betray. One shall fall._

* * *

><p>The fire burnt a kaleidoscope of colours. Sparks of green and orange flew around while the main fire burned red and yellow. The Hunters of Artemis were standing a distance away from the rest of the campers, talking among themselves. The squashed campfire area was filled with chatter that only paused when Chiron stamped his hoof.<p>

"Heroes! I have received word from Lord Zeus that there has been a sudden shift in power in the south. Just like how the Gods cannot venture too far north because it is land beyond them, they cannot go too far east or south either. Therefore, a quest has been issued. I have already received a prophecy."

"What is it?" shouted Jasper Ignite, son of Ares.

"Give the horse a breather, Ignite." called Elijah.

Chiron thundered his hoof again. "Calm down, children. The prophecy goes like this.

_One Hunter and five heroes will be chosen by the sea, _

_Down under they will find the one from the tree._

_Accusations will eventually lead them astray,_

_Vengeance will drive one to betray._

_Power will rise when the heroes are weak,_

_And one shall fall to defeat whom they seek."_

The campfire burned a low shade of purple as the campers and Hunters processed the information. A long silence filled the area, broken every few seconds by the crackle of the fire.

A gasp broke the period of deliberation. Campers and Hunters turned to see what was so interesting, and a similar sound escaped their lips. Standing on the side of the clearing that faced the beach was a tall, broad shouldered man. His skin was tanned and his bright blue eyes had a twinkle in them. Messy blonde-brown hair covered his head like a clump of seaweed. He had an aura of spectacular and wonderful thoughts and miracles.

"Who are you?" a male voice called from the sea of campers.

"I am known as Thaumas, god of the wonders of the sea. But in the prophecy, I am simply known as 'the sea.'"

* * *

><p><strong>That's right. I pulled a Rick Riordan. Slight cliffhanger, because I'm mean. Reviews are appreciated, hate or praise. <strong>

**Also, I've never tried doing prophecies. Suck at rhyming and making sense, so I naturally suck at poem/prophecy things, so can you let me know what you think of the prophecy so that I can improve in the future? Thanks! **


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